Iraqi army open civilian escape route in Mosul

An Iraqi forces member aims his gun towards a Daesh group position in the Old City of Mosul on June 24, 2017 during the ongoing offensive to retake the last district held by the terrorists. (Photos by AFP)

The Iraqi army has successfully established exit corridors for civilians being used as human shields by Daesh in west Mosul.

On Saturday, Iraqi force were able to let hundreds of civilians flee their Takfiri captors as they continued to retake the final part of the city still remaining in terrorist hands.

Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by their Arabic name, Hashd al-Sha’abi, have made sweeping gains against Daesh since launching the Mosul operation on October 17, 2016. 

The Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19.

Meanwhile, the UN has voiced concerns for the lives of civilians still trapped in west Mosul, noting that at least has perished on Saturday alone.

“Fighting is very intense in the Old City and civilians are at extreme, almost unimaginable risk. There are reports that thousands, maybe even tens of thousands, of people are being held as human shields Daesh," said the UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, Lise Grande.

"Hundreds of civilians, including children, are being shot," she added.

Iraqis fleeing the Old City of Mosul are seen at the industrial district of the city on June 23, 2017 after escaping the fighting between Iraqi forces and Daesh terrorists.  

Earlier, Iraq’s federal police chief Lieutenant General Raed Shaker Jawdat voiced concerns over terrorists’ use of civilians as human shields.    

The militants force women and children to cover them in the streets as they know that Iraqi security forces will not target civilians, he said.

Jawdat also stressed that when the terrorists lose a region, they use human shields to secure their way out of the area.

The Mosul liberation operation has taken longer than planned as Takfiri elements are using bombings, sniper fire, and mortar attacks to slow the advance of the Iraqi forces.